Monday, August 20, 2012

Letter To Dad's Uncle Roy and Aunt Eva October 1941

Ralston Wyo.
October 23, 1941

Mr. and Mrs. Roy O. Blood
Box 626
Wheatridge Colorado

Dear Aunt Eva and Uncle Roy,

We live 1 mile west of Ralston on a 100 acre farm. I am in the fifth grade and so is Louise. Elizabeth is just starting this year and is in the first grade. Elizabeth is just learning how to read. She can print her name. We go to school in Powell Wyo., and ride 8 miles on a schoolbus. I have been out of school for 4 days and have spare time to be onery. My glands were swollen up a little bit but thats all. Judith says nu-nu for milk and will yell any time she wants milk. She can say kitty, flowers, dolly, daddy, oh, dog, and a few other words. Her birthday was last April 23d. She is about 17 months old now. Whenever she is mad, we get the mercurochrome and paint her dignity.

Lucinda married Norman Sorensen last winter. I don't know what else you would be interested in and my pen is so scratchy.

Yours truly
Dwight and Louise and Elizabeth

Comment; After Dad lost both of his parents, he was sent to Denver to live with his father's brother, Roy, and his aunt Eva. This time was an extremely unhappy time for Dad, and soon after he was sent to stay with Dewey and Elsie Riddle at their ranch in Sunlight basin above Cody which ultimately led, of course, to his meeting my mother when she came to the ranch to work one summer. October 1941 was the last brief peaceful time before December 7 1941. My time out of school then was nothing compared to what soon happened, as I contracted mumps in early December and then, along with everyone else, came down with Chicken pox on Christmas 1941. I did not return to school until late March. Liz reminded me the other day that she also was out of school for six weeks during this time. Mother rode herd over my schoolwork and my sisters brought my homework and reading assignments home from school. I earned all "1's (A's) thanks to Mother's teaching skills. I probably would have learned a lot more if she would have continued to teach me since I never did learn whether the sun revolves around the earth or vice versa in 7th grade science. Meanwhile, I read a stack of Life magazines over and over. I can still see some of the war photos in my memory. I also had resurrected an old Monkey Ward radio which Dad was going to throw out and tinkered with it a bit and, lo and behold, it worked. This radio became my lifeline during those lonely days in bed as I remember Edward R. Murrow on the rooftops of London, the Lone Ranger (rides again), Jack Armstrong the All American Boy, Dr. Brent (call surgery), Jack Benny, Phil Harris, Fibber McGee and Molly, Dr. IQ the Mental Banker, Phil Spitalney and his All Girl Orchestra (we must be diligent, we must be diligent, American patrol, with arms for the army, ships (I substituted "legs") for the Navy, let this be our goal). I had one jigsaw puzzle of the fife, drum and flag bearer in the Revolutionary War which I put together so many times I had it memorized and could start with any piece and finish it practically blindfolded. Later that spring I won our 5th grade class spelling contest and got to go to the county contest in Cody where I promptly lost. I do remember the fried egg sandwiches our teacher got for us, never having had such a wonderful sandwich.
I remember these days a half century ago more clearly than I do the television program I saw last night. (I don't think I ever posted this before, but, if so, here it is again.)

5 comments:

What a gem your letter is! And your description is mostly accurate, but I wouldn't call the 8 years of difficulty that Dad spent with Roy and Eva a short while. He said that when Aunt Elsie met him at the train depot in Cody, that she gave him a hug, and that was the first he had had in a long time. Difficult years of childhood for him.

I am intrigued with the fact that you wrote to Roy and Eva. Did Mother encourage you to do that? You never met them until you were older, right? Maybe it was homework? The letter is still full of gems about life at that point in time. Please keep writing, whatever you can remember.

I'm like Judy, it's so interesting what kids will choose to tell you about. I love the little tidbits in this. I am also curious as to what prompted the writing of this letter. I also find it interesting that Dwight signed it with my and Elizabeth's name.

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